


The Boy Who Cried Neglect

by joshdunistherealest



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Best Friends, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Overwhelmed Jughead, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Supportive Archie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 04:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11410122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshdunistherealest/pseuds/joshdunistherealest
Summary: Jughead was warned about the wolves when he was young.But he never thought he'd have to come face to face with one of his own.





	The Boy Who Cried Neglect

The small bedroom was dark, and smelled vaguely of unidentified sweets and cigarette smoke. It was Jughead's first day back in his dad's now vacant home, and all he wanted to do was wake up tomorrow and leave. 

By the time four o'clock in the morning rolled around, his body was shaking with nervous energy. Simply put, he could not get to sleep even if someone knocked him out cold. 

Jughead grips his pillow tightly under his head as he feels an emotion drop heavy above his ribcage. Bruising, almost.

He begins typing out a rather frantic text. 

**To: Archie**

_can i come over? i know its late and you're probably sleeping but i feel weird and its kind of creeping me out?_

Jughead waited patiently for a response, but every second, the heavy feeling seemed to creep up his shoulders.

**Archie:**

_Of course, Jug. The window is unlocked, be quiet though, Vegas is on the porch._

Jughead adjusts his hat atop his head, twirling a strand of raven hair in his fingertips. He feels like he doesn't have the energy to move when he stands.

* * *

Akin to an old cathedral, the steps of Archie's house made him feel secure. Though, for all the times hes been in this house, he doesn't think he's ever used the steps more than he can count on one hand.  

Wrestling an old ladder up to Archie's window, (Middle window, second floor. He always remembers. ) he quickly scales it, despite his body's exhausted protests. 

He only realizes he's shaking when the ladder starts rattling beneath him.  

"Shit." He steadies himself quickly, and reaches out to pull up the window, only to realize Archie is sitting there, leaning out of it and looking at him.

"Need some help?" The redhead offers, his eyes filled with genuine concern. 

"I'm-" Jughead gasps as the ladder almost tips, hoisting himself into the open window. 

Archie takes a step back, and watches as the ladder tips and his best friend tumbles onto the ground in his room. 

"I'm fine. " The raven-haired boy reassures, his chest rising and falling as he begins to hyperventilate.

"Jug... " Archie kneels in front of him, cradling his cheeks into his hands. "No you're not."

Jughead looks down at the ground, and his baby blue eyes begin to burn.

"No, I'm not. " he repeats in agreement, shutting his eyes just as tears begin to fall down his porcelain cheeks. Before Archie can wipe away the stray tears, more and more flood down his face like a river, and he begins to breathe more shallow. 

Rushed, hiccup-like breaths echoed out of the tiny boy and made him shake. "What- I'm not.. I'm not even sad, what the fuck." 

"I think you're having a panic attack, have you ever had one?" Archie reaches up to nudge the soft beanie off of his head, and runs his hands through even softer black hair. 

"No." Jughead tries to catch his breath, whimpering lowly as hands carded against his scalp. 

Nodding slowly, Archie starts to pull him closer to his warm chest, continuing to scratch at his scalp. 

The sensation seemed to calm jughead a little, but as Archie began to slowly rock him like an infant, he went limp in his arms, loosely holding onto his biceps with shaky hands. 

"Please don't leave me, Arch. Please, _please please-_ " Jughead doesn't know why he says what he says, but the words tumble out before he can catch them. 

"I'll never leave you. You're safe with me, Jug. " Archie shushes him quietly, kissing him on the temple with a hum. He brushes his hair put of his face with no hesitation. 

The room was surrounded in noise, almost deafening with the quiet small town ambience lurking in from the still-open window. 

Jughead's heart shattering whines and broken breaths could probably be heard two streets down, by a couple quietly sleeping in their own quaint little world. 

Some people just werent that lucky. Oddly enough, it felt as if they were in their own world as well. Shut in from all the pain of the outside, just two friends baring their souls to each other in the most forlorn of ways. 

Jughead suddenly feels too warm. Hesitantly he starts inching up his sweater sleeves to reveal blotchy, firy skin. The blotches were beginning to spread up his neck. 

"Jug?" Archie's voice reigns in dark with concern, and he begins to pull back from the sad sight. "Your skin is heating up really bad, kiddo. "

"I'm fine, it's - it's fine." Jughead tries his best to hide the blotches with his sleeves again. "I'm probably just running a fever or something. "

"That's not a fever, you're going into shock. " Archie gently scoops Jughead up in his arms, which is too easy for how much food he eats in a day. He lays him on the disheveled bed and turns the bedside lamp on. 

In the light it only looks so much worse. Jughead's previously ivory white skin was now covered in little heat rashes. "Wait here, I'll be back."

Before his raven-haired friend can object to his absence, he's back in a flash with a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. 

Jughead pulls his sweater up over his head and lays there, miserable and patchy against Archie's grey sheets. He watches tearfully as Archie pats him down, numb to the sensation of the cold, damp washcloth.

"...Is there anything that you want to tell me." Archie states quite point-blankly as he holds the cloth to a blood red rash on his upper chest. 

Jughead stays silent, the mention of any problem whatsoever making him pull his knees up closer to his body in self defense. 

"Jug. I said is there anything you wanna tell me?"


End file.
